Zoe and the 11 Doctors - The Image of an Angel

Chapter 1

"Work, you stupid phone." Zoe had never been good with technology. Now there was a network problem, and she was as helpless as a rabbit in a fox's den. So there was always one thing she did, even though it was often the most annoying experience. She would call a helpline.

She listened to the landline ringtone, waiting for minutes for someone to pick up. When she heard the phone on the other side rattle up to someone's ear, she sighed with impatience, and flicked her black hair out of the way of her phone.

"Yes? What is it? What do you want?" and old man's voice rasped in her ear.

"Err, my mobile phone connection's not working. I was wondering if you could suggest any reasons?"

There was a pause on the other side. "Where did you get this number?"

"Off the internet. Looked up helplines, and this number came up. So, can you help?"

"Mm. Wait a moment please." Zoe tapped her foot as the man put the phone down and walked away. She heard some kind of wheezing sound. She could hear the man muttering under his breath, seemingly worried. He came back a few moments later. "When you dried to dial, what happened?"

"Well, I pressed call, and then some kind of smiley face appeared. Then my phone said no connection."

"And what did this smiley face look like?"

"It had two lines for eyes, and one curved line for a mouth."

"I see. Hold on a moment. I'll be over there shortly."

"What do you - " The last thing Zoe heard before the phone hung up was the same wheezing noise. But then it got louder. Zoe slowly pulled the phone away from her ear, and turned around. Papers were starting to flick and rush of tables, and a terrible wind hit her face. Then, out of nowhere, something blue began to appear. It faded in and out, in and out, until it finally stayed put, and the wheezing noise stopped. It was a 1950s police box, with a little white light flashing on the top. As the door swung open, Zoe ran to take cover behind her wardrobe.

"Now, let me see," this time the voice came from a man standing right before her. His white hair was pulled slickly over the back of his head, and his wrinkled face contained a stern expression. He wore a black blazer over a white shirt, with a short scarf wrapped under the collar, and baggy checkered trousers. He held a walking stick, which looked old and tattered.

"Where are you? Exuse me not knowing your name, but I'll have to call you mobile connection girl. Oh, I haven't got the wrong house, have I?"

"No." Zoe timidly arose from the wardrobe.

"For goodness sake, dear girl, what on earth were you doing down there?" When he realised that she was hiding from him, he rolled his eyes. "I understand that seeing me and the Tardis might be a little shocking - "

"A little?"

The man looked annoyed at the interuption, but continued. "But really, I can assure you that I am quite safe. Well, friendly, at least. Susan had found out that being around me often ends in trouble."

"Who's Susan? Who are you? And what's the, the, err -"

"The Tardis?"

"Yes!"

"Well, Susan is my granddaughter. I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. And the Tardis is my spaceship. It travels through space and time. Does that answer all of your questions?"

"What's a Time Lord?"

"Oh, where shall I start? Well, as you may have registered, if not you're very incompetant, I'm extra-terrestrial. Time Lords evolved on the planet Galifrey, and we are able to travel through time, as the name suggests. Now please can we move on from these pointless questions and get onto some actual exploring?"

Zoe nodded pathetically. "I suppose you'll want to look at my phone."

"Well of course. Stop stating the obvious and actually do something useful, girl!"

She tried to ignore the Doctor's rudeness as she handed him the phone. "Like what?" she asked.

"Go away." he siad without looking up from what he was doing.

"But I want to -"

"Do you think I let every girl who comes wondering about help? I would strongly appreciate it if you left the house for a while to leave me to my own investigations. Or must I leave with your phone?"

Zoe felt the rage boil up in her. This was her house not his, so why should she have to but out? He was an alien, for goodness sake! He didn't even have a right to be on this planet! But she was too afraid of the giant blue box that was towering in the room, afraid of what was in there that the Doctor could use against her. In all of the sci-fi movies she'd seen, all of them had spaceships with some kind of weapon. What would make the Tardis any different? Se rushed down the stairs in a flutter, put her coat on, and left the house.

She walked all the way to the local park, which was a twenty minute walk from the house. It was abandoned when she arrived there, which meant that she could sit in peace and quiet whilst she thought of how to get rid of, or at least deal with, the Doctor. Even though there was that little spark of light in his eyes that made her feel joyous and excited, she wasn't sure if she could trust him. After all, who would trust a man who claimed to be alien, with a blue box for a spaceship that materialised out of thin air and allegedly travelled in time?

But just as she was settling down, she felt a slight breeze on the back of her neck. Her hair stood on end and a chill went through her spine. She whipped around to look at a point where the grass suddenly looked like it was being flattened, in a square shape. Next, she heard the familiar wheezing fill the air, and blue began to fade in and out, in and out. After a few moments, the Tardis had once again materialised.

Great, he followed me.